The Other Reid: Episode 1--Losing Control
by SilentAngel11390
Summary: Getting inside the mind of serial killers is one thing. Getting inside the mind of my genius twin brother, however, is a completely different thing. Working at the Behavioral Analysis Unit out of Quantico is everything I hoped it would be at more-studying behavior, delivering profiles, and kicking tons of criminal ass. I'm Special Agent Allyson Reid and this is my story.
1. Chapter 1

_Getting inside the mind of a serial killer is one thing. Getting inside the mind of my genius twin brother, however, is a completely different thing. Working at the Behavioral Analysis Unit out of Quantico is everything I had hoped it would be and more-studying behavior, delivering profiles, not to mention kicking tons of criminal ass. With the help of the best team anyone could ask for-and yes, that includes my genius twin brother-we bring down the worst of the worst and get inside the twisted heads of some of the most dangerous and prolific serial killers of our time._

 _My name is Special Agent Allyson Reid and this is my story._

"...and with this area of low pressure pushing into the area, we could be seeing quite a few more days of rain. Maybe even a snow shower or two as temperatures dip down into the high 20s with the arrival of the weekend."

The reporter on the news channel continued with the evening weather report, but he barely noticed it. He'd barely noticed it since he first came into the house. Sarah had been busy watching television when he arrived. _Family Feud_ had been on. He could tell that she really enjoyed that show. In fact, he had to ring the doorbell several times to tear her away from the set. But once she opened the door, the cheers, claps, and calls of "Survey says!" were lost amid her screams.

The screams had subsided over the last hour, but he doubted she had much energy left anymore. Not after what he had done to her. if she had any brains at all, she would be thanking him. A girl like her, sitting inside on a Friday night, eating junk food and watching game show reruns on television? Who was going to fall for someone like that? Who was going to be able to give her the release he had just given her? Again, and again, and again...

A muffled sob rang out from behind him. He turned around, staring at Sarah through the slits of his mask. He didn't know why he was still wearing it. She wouldn't be able to identify him. Not after he finished with her. Perhaps it was because by keeping it on, she still had hope that he wouldn't kill her. She still had hope that he would eventually leave. And he still had exactly what he wanted from her: control.

"Please," she cried, her voice barely more than a whisper anymore. "Just tell me what you want."

He smiled as he leaned over her on the bed, pushing her matted, dark hair out of her face, her tears and sweat mingling with the blood from the blow he'd given to subdue her. If she had just let him into the house in the first place, he wouldn't have needed to be so forceful. He wouldn't have needed to tie her to the bed. (Actually...that part was all for him.)

"Shh..." he said, placing a finger on her lips, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth with his thumb. "Savor this, Sarah. You're never going to have another night like this."

She started crying, turning her head away from him. He disgusted her. She couldn't even look at him anymore. After what he'd done for her. After what he'd given her. She didn't deserve him. She didn't deserve anyone.

"You're never going to have another night like this," he repeated as his hands found her throat. "Never, ever again."

Her sobs cut out as he tightened his grip.

 _Tak. Tak. Tak._

Allyson Reid groaned and rubbed her aching eyes, willing the letters and numbers on the screen to start looking more like coherent words and less like the jumbled mess that had currently formed in her mind. How long had she been working on this report? One hour? Two hours? Half a day? (A brief glance at the clock revealed it had only been about fifteen minutes, but it definitely felt longer.) Maybe if she just rested her eyes for a few minutes, the time would go faster...

 _WHUMP!_

Allyson hurriedly jerked away as what sounded like a small avalanche came cascading down on her desk. The source of the noise turned out to be a stack of folders, and the culprit-as she had already guessed-was none other than her "rather hilarious" (his words, not hers) coworker, Derek Morgan.

"Damn it, Morgan!" she cussed, straightening herself and lightly smacking the back of her twin brother Spencer's head to make him stop snickering. "You scared me half to death!"

"Well, that's what happens when you get caught snoozing on the job there, Street Fighter," Morgan replied with a grin. "What's got you so tired?"

"None of your business," Allyson replied casually, reaching for her energy drink only to realize, to her immense disappointment, that it was empty.

"Ooh, someone's cranky in the morning," Morgan said.

"You have no idea," Spencer replied, resulting in another smack in the back of his head from his sister.

"So what? You keep her up all night discussing your Star Trek theories, Reid?" Morgan asked as if needing to remind everyone of the fact that the team genius was also a huge nerd.

Allyson rolled her eyes as she got up to grab another can of Monster from the staffroom fridge. "Okay, first off: I'm a Star _Wars_ girl. Everyone knows that. And secondly, like I said, it's none of your business."

"I'd lay off her, man," Reid said as Morgan opened his mouth to argue. "Until she's consumed half of that four-pack she brings to work every morning, she won't tell you much of anything."

 _Well, he's got a point there,_ Allyson thought to herself. But even if she had already had her usual two Monsters (damn her brother's eidetic memory for knowing how much of this crap she really drank), she wouldn't tell Morgan the _real_ reason she was so tired. She hadn't even told Spencer that the nightmares were coming back. It had taken so long to convince him last time that they had really stopped. At least she was getting better at not screaming at night as much. The apartment walls were thin and, given the fact that their bedrooms were right next to each other, it didn't take much to wake her brother up.

"All right, keep your secrets," Morgan said, grabbing his stack of files and settling himself into the desk in between the twins. "I know all about those _special_ nights," he added with a wink. Allyson rolled her eyes, but couldn't completely hide a smirk.

The lighthearted banter, however, was short-lived as the door to the Communications Liaison's office opened and Agent Jareau emerged, holding a file and looking distressed in the way only a tricky case could do. She glanced briefly at the three of them before giving a defeated sigh and tucking a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Bad, JJ?" Allyson asked, even though her face had already answered the question.

"Bad," she replied sadly. "Conference room in two."

 _Looks like I won't be finishing that report after all_ , Allyson thought as she, Morgan, and Reid got up and headed towards the conference room. As they neared it, Reid leaned over and half-whispered in her ear, "You aren't having 'special nights' like Morgan suggested, right?"

Allyson nearly choked on her drink as she fought to stifle a laugh. "Even if I was, I doubt I would be telling you that, little brother."

"Okay, again," Reid began in that know-it-all tone of his. "Just because you were born first doesn't mean I'm your 'little brother.' We are technically the same age."

"Well, I'm six minutes older so that means I make the rules and I say it does," Allyson replied.

"Yeah, but I'm seven inches taller than you," Reid interjected (which was true; he'd inherited their mother's height). "So if anyone should be referred to as 'little,' it's definitely you."

Allyson started to retort, but, realizing it wasn't worth it, merely shook her head. "I'm too tired to do this."

"Well, that's a first," came the voice of their superior Jason Gideon as he entered the conference room, a newspaper tucked under one arm and his reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. "You're never too tired to give your brother crap."

"Guess I'm full of surprises," Allyson said with a smile as JJ began passing around case files."

"All right, everyone, settle down," came the commanding tone of their unit chief SSA Aaron Hotchner (more commonly referred to as "Hotch" by the members of the team). "JJ, whenever you're ready."

Despite the fact that she dearly loved her job (and not just because it gave her a chance to give her brother shit every day), Allyson always found herself silently dreading these board meetings. Granted, they had gotten better over the years (once the demons in her past weren't quite so prevalent in her mind), but every once in a while, a case would be presented to them that brought unpleasant images back into her mind. (Almost like her nightmares last night had been telling her something.)

It was this tragic back story that ultimately pushed Allyson into wanting to join the BAU in the first place. She'd been no stranger to picking fights with the bad guys ever since she was a little girl. And she owed all of that to her brother. With an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and the ability to comprehend 20,000 words a minute, Spencer was a certified genius (even though he claimed that intelligence was not something that could be accurately measured). But considering the fact that her twin brother had graduated high school before she even started it, Allyson didn't really know what else to call him.

Unfortunately, most of the kids in the Las Vegas public school department didn't see it quite the same way. And a lot of the 10th graders weren't too keen about having a 12-year-old in their class (who was noticeably smarter than them), and they weren't too shy about beating up the wimpy nerd any chance they got.

Sadly for them, they didn't know about Allyson.

Sick and tired of watching bullies take advantage of her brother, Allyson set about learning several styles of martial arts, as well as basic self-defense. By the time she was in junior high, she was practically untouchable. And after Spencer came home from school bruised, bloodied, and crying one too many times, forcing her to put three members of the varsity football team in the hospital, they thought twice about messing with either of them from then on.

Despite their young ages, the Reid twins made it to the FBI fairly quickly. What Spencer lacked in physicality, he more than made up for in brains-hell, the boy had three PhD's before he was even old enough to drink!-and while she wasn't at quite the level of genius as her brother, Allyson's combat skills rivaled almost everyone in their division. (Morgan _still_ refused to admit he didn't just "let her beat him" the last few times they sparred.) When the two of them put their heads together, they were unstoppable.

As was tradition in the BAU, members of the team typically went by their surnames-Agent Jennifer Jareau being the exception as she preferred to abbreviate her alliterative name into merely "JJ". However, because Spencer had started about six months before Allyson and had already been coined "Reid," Allyson merely went by a shortened version of her first name (because everyone agreed that saying "Reid" and "Other Reid" was just too confusion). But she didn't mind. With the amount of books her brother had finished in his short lifetime, "Reid" seemed like a much more appropriate nickname for him anyway.

The folder on the table in front of Allyson was, as usual, filled with images that made her heart heavy. This particular case file involved pictures of two women, each laid out on the side of a dirt road, wrapped in a blanket and dressed in nothing but their undergarments. Dark bruising around their wrists, ankles, and necks indicated that they had been restrained and strangled. Their attire, Allyson sadly realized, most likely meant they had been assaulted as well.

 _Why today of all days?_

"Sarah Lawrence, age 23, and Danielle Markinson, age 26," JJ began, projecting photos of the two victims on the screen behind her. "Both women were discovered in ditches off the side of the road. Sarah was discovered early Saturday morning, Danielle about two day before. Both were beaten and sexually assaulted."

Even though that much was obvious, it still was never easy to hear. "Were they covered like that?" Allyson asked, gesturing to the blankets.

"Yes," JJ replied. "Their bodies were wrapped up in the blanket, but our unsub left their heads exposed."

"So he wanted the bodies to be found?" Morgan asked.

"It's possible," Hotch said.

"Covering them could be a sign of remorse," Gideon added.

 _He wasn't very remorseful when he raped them_ , Allyson thought savagely.

"The bruising on their wrists suggests they were restrained," Reid said.

"And on their neck," Morgan began. "That means-"

"He strangled them," Allyson finished, noting how her voice temporarily broke on that statement. She really hoped nobody else noticed.

"Yes, both women were strangled to death," JJ said. "But that's not all. These two women aren't our unsub's only victims."

"Are there more bodies out there?" Morgan asked.

"Not exactly," JJ replied. "There aren't any bodies because the other victims aren't dead." When everyone continued to look confused, she elaborated. "After details got out about Sarah Lawrence's death, other girls started to come forward, all claiming to have been raped by the same man. Their stories go as far back as six months."

"Is there proof to back it all up?" Hotch asked.

"Those who agreed to rape kits all tested positive for assault," JJ replied. "And the more recent victims had bruising that matched Sarah and Danielle."

"So something changed that made him go from assault to murder," Morgan said. "A stressor in his life."

"The assault alone wasn't providing him satisfaction," Gideon replied, sounding (as usual) like he was reading the unsub's mind. "Killing them provided him with the release he was lacking."

"Were any of the previous victims able to give a physical description?" Reid asked. Allyson saw him glance towards her, but she pretended at first like she didn't notice. She knew what he wanted to ask her, but now was not the time.

JJ sadly shook her head. "A lot of them have suppressed the memories of that night. Those that do remember say that he kept his face hidden."

"Well, two bodies in two days means he's escalating fast," Hotch said. "We need to act fast before we risk another body. Wheels up in thirty."

There was a scraping of chairs as everyone closed their case files and headed for the door to grab their things and get any last minute tasks taken care of before they headed to the jet. Allyson took a bit longer, waiting until most of the team had left before closing her own file. _Okay, deep breaths, Ally. You've done cases like this before. It's going to be fine._

She got to her feet and barely resisted the urge to scream as she noticed a tall figure standing behind her.

"Damn it, Spencer! You scared me!"

"I'm sorry," Reid responded. "I didn't expect you to be so jumpy."

"I'm not jumpy," Allyson retorted. "I just didn't know you would be standing there."

Reid fell silent as if suddenly second-guessing what he had wanted to talk about. Allyson decided to put his mind at ease.

"You can relax, okay? I'm fine." She hoped that by saying the words out loud, her mind might actually start to believe them. "We've handled assault cases like this before."

"I know," Reid said. "But I also know this time of year is difficult for you. And I know you haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Well, neither have you," Allyson replied. "You think I don't notice the living room light on at 3:30 in the morning?"

"I like reading at night. It's easier to focus."

"Mhmm...sure," Allyson said, smirking slightly.

Reid hesitated for a minute. "Have you talked to Hotch-"

"No," Allyson replied hurriedly. "And until it starts to affect my work, he doesn't need to know."

"It might be good to tell him."

Allyson took a deep breath. As much as she wanted to be mad, she knew her brother was only looking out for her (he had this annoying habit of doing that). "Look, I understand your concern and I appreciate it," she began. "But I wouldn't have taken this job if I couldn't handle it."

"I know," Reid said again. "I just don't want you to try to handle everything by yourself."

Allyson groaned. "Why do you have to do that?"

Reid frowned. "Do what?"

"Care like that," Allyson replied. "It's ruining my image of being the troubled agent with the dark and mysterious past."

Reid smirked. "Well, you're my twin sister so that image is already way out the window."


	2. Chapter 2

The plane ride from Virginia to Ohio was a fairly quick one. For that, Allyson was grateful; the less she had to look at the pictures of these poor women, the better. She was even more grateful when Reid took a seat next to her, handing her a mug of hot cocoa (despite how hard she tried, she never could get into coffee-her brother had enough of a caffeine addition for both of them).

"So, let's review victimology," Hotch said once everyone was seated.

"Well, they're definitely similar in appearance," Morgan said. "Both young, brunette, petite. Could be a surrogate for someone who wronged him."

"But if both victims were smaller women, why did he have to tie them down?" JJ asked, looking disgusted by the mere thought of it.

"It could be that he's not physically capable of keeping them subsided," Reid replied. "Lack of sufficient physical strength could be something he was self-conscious about most of his life."

"Or maybe he's been injured," Morgan suggested. "One of his first victims may have fought back and hurt him somehow."

"Or he wants these women to feel completely helpless," Gideon added, peering at the file over his glasses. "He wants to be totally in control of the situation. Strength may have nothing to do with it."

 _That's definitely true_ , Allyson thought. "Do we have any names of the other victims?" she asked out loud.

"Your timing could not be more perfect, Girl Genius," came a voice from the monitor on Allyson's left as it clicked on, revealing the blonde, bespectacled face of their relatively colorful technical analyst Penelope Garcia. "I was just combing through those records."

"What were you able to find, Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"Sadly, not much," Garcia replied. "As most of you know, many cases of sexual assault go unreported. Many victims prefer to remain anonymous. And a lot of them unfortunately end up redacting their statements to avoid further backlash."

The mug in Allyson's hands began shaking, forcing her to set it down before the hot liquid could burn her hands. Reid glanced at her, but she silently reassured him that she was fine.

"But, as always, my search was not in vain," Garcia continued. "I was able to come up with a relatively small list of victims who have come forward. And here's the thing, almost all of them are students at Dayton University."

"That's not far from where Sarah and Danielle were found," JJ said.

"He most likely works there," Gideon said.

"Or attends," Morgan added. "He could be a student."

"Either way, it's a good place to start," Hotch said. "When we land, Ally and Gideon, check out the crime scene where the latest body was found. Reid, you go to the ME. JJ, Morgan, you two head to Dayton and see if you can talk to some of the other students. I'll meet with the police chief at the precinct and set up."

Allyson took a deep breath, surprised she was about to say this. "Actually, Hotch," she began, hoping that her voice wasn't shaking quite as badly as she thought it was. "Would it be all right if I go with JJ to talk to the students?" Not wanting it to seem like she was undermining Morgan's abilities, she quickly elaborated. "Nothing at all against Agent Morgan, but...women who have been victims of sexual assault tend to be very closed off to men, even men of authority. I just...I feel like we'll get further if we have two women interview these girls."

Her voice trailed off slightly, and she hurriedly looked back down at her file, feeling her cheeks burn. _Great,_ she thought to herself. _Now they all hate me._

"Hotch, she has a point," Morgan said, and Allyson's ears instantly perked up. "They're going to have a much easier time opening up to a woman, especially with the level of violence this unsub has shown."

Hotch nodded. "You're right. Morgan, you go with Gideon to the crime scene. Ally, you're with JJ at the college. Keep in mind, everyone, he's escalating quickly. Sarah Lawrence's body was found almost 30 hours ago, so we may not have a lot of time before he strikes again."

The team nodded as they began preparing for their landing. Allyson took another deep breath, but instantly relaxed as she looked across and saw Hotch flash her a rare smile. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

Despite the fact that they were twins, Allyson and her brother's college experiences had been very different. For one thing, Spencer had been 14 when he started at MIT. For another, Allyson had been coming off of a-to put it _very_ lightly-rather unpleasant final year at high school. By the time she had started at Yale, her brother was working on his second PhD, and Allyson was determined to do whatever it took to get into the FBI. Sometimes she regretted missing out on the crazy parties and stupid shit you were supposed to do in college, but then she remembered how much she loved her job and those regrets went right out the window.

"You ever miss it?" JJ asked as they got out of the SUV. "College?"

Allyson shrugged. "Parts of it, I guess. I mean, believe it or not, I spent most of my time in the library."

JJ laughed. "Well, considering what I know about your brother, that doesn't really surprise me."

"Well, I couldn't let him be the _only_ genius in the family, could I?" Allyson asked with a smirk. "What about you?"

"Sometimes," JJ replied. "I may have had a _little_ too much fun my freshman year, but...it wasn't all bad."

Allyson smiled. Sometimes she liked to think about what it would have been like knowing the team in college. Spencer, obviously, would spend most of his time away in the library, becoming the youngest person ever to graduate summa cum laude. Garcia would be the head of the A/V club, her hacking skills quickly giving her the reputation of knowing everything about everyone on campus. JJ would be the captain of the girls' soccer team, capturing the hearts of nearly every football player. Hotch would definitely be a business major, working his way up to eventually becoming President of the Student Government. Gideon would most likely skip class often and instead spend his afternoons playing chess by the lake. And then there was Morgan, coveted by nearly ever single fraternity on campus, running cross-country in his spare time (how else was he supposed to stay so fast?). What would that have been like? Would any of them have ever become friends?

Though Dayton wasn't a relatively large campus, Allyson still felt like she and JJ spent hours canvassing the students. Many of them were clueless to the fact that assault charges had ever been filed. Many seemed unwilling to cooperate. And many seemed more preoccupied with other activities (school-related or otherwise).

"You know, I figured this was going to be difficult," Allyson said after over an hour of attempted interrogation. "But this is quickly becoming impossible."

"Don't worry," JJ replied. "We'll get someone."

 _I'm not so sure_ , Allyson thought glumly, knowing all too well how hard it was for victims of sexual assault to come forward. Maybe she would have been more helpful with Gideon at the crime scene after all.

"Umm...excuse me?"

The voice behind them was so faint that Allyson and JJ almost didn't hear it. They turned to find a girl standing there, looking instantly like she regretted getting their attention to the first place. Her dark hair hung in front of her face, and she constantly picked at the chipped black polish on her fingernails, her eyes trained on the tips of her Converse shoes.

"You guys are investigating those dead girls, right?" she asked.

JJ nodded. "Yes. My name's Agent Jareau and this is Agent Reid. Can you tell us anything about those girls?"

The girl instantly tensed up, her eyes hurriedly darting from left to right. "Why don't we go somewhere a little more private," Allyson suggested, leading the poor girl over to a park bench off to the side. She sat next to the girl while JJ remained standing.

"Do you know about the man who hurt those girls?" Allyson asked. The girl opened her mouth several times as if to speak, but couldn't seem to get the words to come out.

"Let's try something a little easier," Allyson said. "What's your name?"

At first, it seemed like she wouldn't be able to answer that either. But finally, Allyson and JJ heard her whisper, "Cassie."

"Cassie. That's a nice name," Allyson said with a smile.

Cassie looked at first like she wasn't listening, but Allyson was pleased to see her body language relax. Unfortunately, she knew that would be short-lived as she asked, "Did something happen to you like what happened to those girls?"

Sure enough, Cassie instantly tensed up again, her hands balling up into fists and disappearing into her lap. JJ sat down on the other side of her. "Cassie, I want you to know that whatever you say to us will be completely confidential," she said softly.

Cassie sniffed slightly. "It's not that, it's..." She paused, and Allyson saw her wipe at her eyes. "He was right. No one believes me anyway."

"Believes you about what?" Allyson asked.

Cassie sniffed again, this time barely repressing a sob. "That I'm pretty enough to be raped."

Allyson bit back a retort with difficulty. She looked over at JJ to see that she was also angry about that comment. _Should have known he'd be an asshole too._

"He said he was doing me a favor," Cassie continued in a shaky tone. Allyson reached over and took her hand. "He said most guys wouldn't have even looked at me twice. He...He said I should be thanking him."

The sobs she had been repressing could no longer be contained as she buried her face in her hand. Allyson squeezed her other hand in a consoling matter while JJ spoke calmly, reassuring her that she was okay and to take as much time as she needed.

"I'm sorry," Cassie said, wiping at her eyes. "It's just...hard to talk about."

Allyson gave her hand another reassuring squeeze. "We understand."

"Cassie, can you remember anything about the man who did this to you?" JJ asked.

"Not much," Cassie replied. "His face was covered. He was big, though. And strong. I tried to fight back, but...he held me down. Tied me to the bed." Her voice squeaked as the tears came back.

"Do you really think he killed those other girls?" Cassie asked after composing herself.

"That's what we're trying to find out," JJ replied. "And I want you to know that everything you've told us has been helpful."

Cassie smiled. "The campus is pretty shaken up. First there was the whole thing with Leah Miller and then this."

Allyson frowned slightly. "What happened to Leah Miller?"

"She was another...victim," Cassie replied, the word clearly sticking in her throat.

"Did you know her?" JJ asked.

Cassie shook her head. "Not well. When girls started coming forward about these attacks, no one seemed really eager to help us. I mean, no one saw his face so there wasn't really anything we could do. One of the counselors decided to hold a session once a week, a safe space for us to go and talk about...about what happened." She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. "Leah started coming a couple weeks ago. She told her story about what happened, and it didn't take much for me to realize that we'd been attacked by the same guy. We talked for a bit after that first meeting, but no one really wants to relive it anymore than they have to. But we kept going back. Every week. It helped, you know? Until last week. When Leah stopped coming."

"Why did she stop?" Allyson asked. "What happened to her?" Cassie looked up at her, the haunting look in her eyes providing the answer long before her mouth did.

"She killed herself."


End file.
